TD Ameritrade Network TD Ameritrade Network

It has been the Fed's M.O. not to go against expectations, says Liz Ann Sonders. She doesn't see rate cuts in the near-term future, especially without contagion in the banking system's woes. She says there is typically an 8 month period between the final rate hike and the first rate cut. For now, she thinks the Fed is focusing on not repeating the mistakes of the 1970s.

It's very difficult to predict what will happen next in the markets, says Joanna Gallegos, without a clear trend from week to week and high volatility. She discusses the SVB collapse and how it has changed rate hike expectations in the market. She expects unemployment to rise but to stay historically low, and thinks there is a lot of resiliency in the consumer and the economy. She says investors should reallocate into bonds.

"Best case scenario is that the Federal Reserve raises interest rates by 25BPS because if they do not, it will show that they are scared. With volatility coming down, I am starting to look for cheap protection back to the downside. Option premium is collapsing a bit. Crude oil price fell to November 2021 lows. It does not seem that the China reopening story at the end of 2022 is really taking hold. They lowered the GDP estimates for their economy moving forward. Crude oil demand seems robust in the U.S.," says Scott Bauer.

"Crude oil price hit $64 and we are back to where we were 15 months ago. There has been a tremendous sell-off. The whole world is betting that there will be a recession. Investors thought that China reopening would be more vigorous for commodities and this has betrayed cotton and corn. The corn price hit 8 month lows. Crude oil has been the canary in the coal mine," says Chris Robinson.

"There was a supply chain shortage with new vehicles coming out of the pandemic, and now there is a tighter supply for used vehicles. There is an increase in used car prices for the first time in eight months. Also, new car prices continue to be at all-time highs, but more new vehicles are being released, so that could mean a decrease. As EV prices come down, there will be more interest in those cars," says Kevin Roberts.

The VanEck Preferred Securities Ex Financials ETF (PFXF) has been in the market for over 10 years and was born out of the global financial crisis. The PFXF ETF is up 2% in 2023. "There was demand for access to the preferred securities market, while leaving banking, insurance, and other financials out of the mix," says Brandon Rakszawski.